Thursday, March 05, 2009

"Post No. 615"

No reason especially for the above cover of Marvel's Doctor Strange #49 save that I always thought it was one of the late Marshall Roger's finest efforts, truely showing a sorcerer supreme.

That copy of Mad About Millie Annual (Marvel) #1 (1971) came in, and surprize, surprize! It has a Beatles mention in one panel, which makes it a new listing for my "Beatles & Bizarros" blog (link to the right).

Went down to mom's on my day off, determined to finally get those old clothesline posts cut down enough that I could mow over those spots starting this Spring (rather than mow around them). After a few hours work I finally got that accomplished but not before I had to use two different circular saws, a gas powered chain saw, an electric-powered chain saw, two different pry bars and a sturdy machinist's hammer! What a job, but now, finally done. The posts were a good 5-6 inches thick and sunk in concrete right up to the top of the hole. A tornado wouldn't have moved them had it hit on them directly! I saved those posts, of course, to use someday as a couple of corner supports for a proposed deck I want to add onto the back of my house.

Had a lovely day to do it, weather-wise, with temperatures right up there in the 50's. Sure hope that's finally a sign that Spring's right around the corner. (And yes, I expect we'll get a LOT of rain just like we have in previous years).

Other things...our dining room light went out again. Some time back we had lights in both the dining room and bathroom. They were old fixtures so we had a guy come over and we went out and bought new fixtures to replace those. Unfortunately, my wife bought exactly the type that i didn't want; ones with special-type light bulbs rather than regular ones. So I didn't know if both of the bulbs in the dining room fixture had gone bad, or if the fixture (or wiring) is bad in there. Fortunately, it was just the bulbs that i found much easier than I figured at the next door Family Dollar Store. (Always sumthin'.)

Checked the confirmation code and it looks that that set of Eclipse Comics Zot! 1-10 (1984-85) will be here soon, as well as that lot of approx. 50 modern comics (mostly Marvel). I've made a deal with a local collector as well for several Silver-Age DC comics which feature early appearances of the character, "Zatanna", including her first app. in Hawkman #4 (1964). Another book in that lot is a "good" condition copy of Showcase #37(1962) which is, of course, the first app. and origin of "The Metal Men".

The Metal Men were always a favorite I read as a kid, and I really wish I hadn't let go of a full run (including all of the Showcase app.'s) the last time I sold a major collection (circa 1996). (Alas..."hindsight", et all.)

And now for something completely different.

HISTORY OF KENTUCKY

For those of you who live in Kentucky you might find this interesting. And for those of you who don't, YOU might also find this interesting.

Today's history lesson: * The bloodiest civil war battle was fought in Perryville , Kentucky .

*The first town in the United States to be named for the first president was Washington , Ky. It was named in 1780.

*1792 - Kentucky was the first state on the western frontier to join the Union.

*In the War of 1812 more than half of all Americans killed in action were Kentuckians.

*1816 - (first promoted) Mammoth Cave , with 336+ miles of mapped passages, is the world's longest cave. It is 379 feet deep and contains at least 5 levels of passages. It's second only to Niagara Falls as the most popular tourist attraction in the US . It became a National Park on July 1, 1941.

*The first American performance of a Beethoven symphony was in Lexington in 1817.

*Begun in 1819 the first commercial oil well was on the Cumberland River in McCreary County .

* Kentucky is the state where both Abraham Lincoln, President of the Union , and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, were born. They were born less than one hundred miles and one year apart.

*1856 - The first enamel bathtub was made in Louisville.

*In 1873, Louisville druggist John Colgan invented something that you can find in any just about every grocery store in the world, chewing gum.

*1883 - The first electric light bulb was shown in Louisville . Thomas Alva Edison introduced his invention to crowds at the Southern Exposition.

*1887 - Mother's Day was first observed in Henderson by teacher Mary S. Wilson . It became a national holiday in 1916.

*The radio was invented by a Kentuckian named Nathan B. Stubblefield of Murray in 1892. It was three years before Marconi made his claim to the invention.

* Pike County the world's largest producer of coal is famous for the Hatfield-McCoy feud, an Appalachian vendetta that lasted from the Civil War to the 1890s.

*1893 - 'Happy Birthday to You', probably the most sung song in the world, was written by two Louisville sisters - Mildred and Patricia Hill.

*Late 19th century - Bibb lettuce was first cultivated by Jack Bibb in Frankfort , Kentucky.

*1896 - The first (known) set of all male quintuplets was born in Paducah .

*Carrie Nation the spokesperson against rum, tobacco, pornography, and corsets was born near Lancaster in Garrard County.

1926 - A Hot Brown is a hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville , Kentucky , by Fred K. Schmidt.

*.1934 - Cheeseburgers were first tasted at Kaelin's Restaurant in Louisville .

*1937 - The first Wigwam Village Motel, with units in the shape of a 'teepee', was built by Frank A. Redford in Cave City .

The "Old Fashion" drink was created in Louisville KY.

*The world's largest baseball bat, a full one hundred twenty (120) feet tall and weighing 68,000 pounds, can be seen at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville (Jefferson Co.).

*Chevrolet Corvettes are manufactured only in Bowling Green .

* Covington (St. Mary's Cathedral-Basilica of the Assumption) is home to the world's largest hand blown stained glass window in existence. It measures an astounding 24 feet by 67 feet and contains 117 different figures.